When it comes to marketing, a key component that must be there is - Knowledge. Knowledge is having expertise, skills, experience and education of our markets, competition, services we offer and of course most importantly our clients. It involves learning, communicating, perception and reasoning. Your clients and prospects are expecting you to lead them through what is most often an exciting and scary process of buying or selling a home and they are depending on your knowledge to reach their goal.
In addition to Knowledge, there are other important components of marketing that are essential for every real estate professional to show their clients so lets address them:
Perception:
Not everyone sees a situation, your services or even a home in quite the same way. One of the most important things to remember is that it doesn't matter what you think of your business and services- it matters what the client thinks and believes. Their perception is what truly matters. We can tell them all the great things we can do but it comes down to showing them which leads me to the next one Value.
We show Value by giving the client a good reason for choosing to work with us. There's lots of competition out there and it does not serve us well to cut them down but to simply show that we can provide value. Focus on the things YOU can do, offer and deliver. We must provide services that will have a positive impact on our clients.
Customer Service:
Customer Service is delivering on the commitment and promises we are making from the very beginning of the relationship. It starts from the first phone call and presentation we make and should continue beyond the closing table or end of our first interaction. Providing great customer service is what will show your clients you're there for them, they can depend on you and trust you and that simply leads to referrals. Customer service has great impact on a client in choosing to reach out to you when they have needs and their ability and desire to continue promoting you to their sphere of influence.
Consistency:
One of the downfalls in any business is not having consistency. We do a task for awhile and then other things happen that take our focus and move it to other things. We may be very committed in the beginning to sending out our marketing pieces, or calling our clients regularly and then it goes away. Clients notice this. You've heard me say it before, it's important to have a plan, break it down into manageable parts and do it - every day and consistently. This is an area of your business that requires your focus and commitment and will provide you with great results in the form of clients relying on you beyond their first transaction and because they will have great influence on their sphere in sharing with them that you are capable of handling their needs. Remember the word perception?
Organized:
Being organized pulls everything you're doing together. Things are constantly changing in the real estate world and being organized shows your clients that you are capable and worthy of their investment. Ever notice when you are truly organized how things just seem to work and you feel more productive? Being organized saves us time and money. Is your office space cluttered? Do you spend lots of time trying to find paperwork? I strongly advise you to take a few hours to get organized - in the long run it will save you time which will allow you more money making opportunities.
Communication:
Why would a client want to do business with you? Communication - our marketing efforts, how we educate our clients, showing our expertise, using technology to reach and connect with clients are all ways in which we communicate why they should choose to work with us. Are we providing them with a consistent message for them to make that decision? Are we letting them know they are important to us? You have ideas, knowledge and solutions and you have all the tools to get your message out there - blogging, websites, social media and tools that help you promote and share your expertise and services - use them and use them often.
Persistence:
We all have days when it just feels we can't do it. Whether it's exercise or a work task we sometimes feel we want to give up - things aren't happening and we're frustrated. Persistence is sticking with it even when we want or think we want to give up. Marketing is challenging. Often times we don't see immediate results and we think it's not working. Be persistent when it comes to your business. Allow for setbacks and disappointments and know you have the power to tackle them - it's all in how you look and approach them that will make the difference.
Relationships:
Real estate is a relationship business. It's not just a transaction but a true commitment to connecting with 
people. Everyone on this network has the desire to connect with one another and extend our reach out into our communities. The key to building a great and lasting relationship is to provide great information as well as great listening from the very beginning. This ensures that a client will have the confidence in you to come back and refer people to you when they have real estate needs. As great as the internet is for extending our reach to potential clients, please don't forget the importance of a simple phone call and a handwritten note. People will remember all the ways you communicate with them and there's just something so personal about a phone call or note that truly lets them know they're important to you.
Frequency:
Saying something just once is not the way to go about building your business. Look at commercials for example. More often than not we get the same message, not once but several times in a short amount of time. Repeat your message often and in many different ways. I spoke with a staging client of mine last week and she shared with me that her colleagues and competitors were telling her "we see you everywhere - on the blogging sites and in her community." She's ensuring that in everything she does she is putting herself out there in front of her clients, otherwise they will forget about her. The word my friends is frequency and repeating your message is what will remind your prospects and clients that you are there, you're committed and they can find you when they need you most.
When it comes to our clients, do you know what the number one thing is that's important to them?
Everything on this list.
It's about doing the big and small things, dotting the i's and crossing the t's, managing their complete experience with us from beginning to end. By focusing on these key aspects of business and marketing, you are ensuring that your clients made the right choice when they chose you.
What word stuck out most for you and why?
Are you able to say that you focus on all these areas or at least a few? Which ones will you focus on changing?
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